Ask Farmer: Monitoring opponents and how to better measure first downs?

Have a question about the NFL? Ask Times NFL writer Sam Farmer, and he will answer as many as he can online and in the Sunday editions of the newspaper throughout the season. Email questions to: sam.farmer@latimes.com

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NFL coaches can be so paranoid in terms of what they say to the media and in closing practices, etc. Do teams actually monitor an opponent’s coverage and adjust accordingly?

Dan Brown, San Carlos

Farmer: Here’s what longtime NFL coach Sam Wyche has to say about that: “The answer is yes. It’s not always the coach, sometimes it’s the coach’s secretary who checks all the newspapers, and if there’s anything that an out-of-town newspaper has to say, especially about an upcoming opponent, that’s relevant to the team, she’ll just circle it or she checks it. Basically keeps a little folder that has all the articles in there. Occasionally, you might come up with something that gives you an edge in a game.

“I always taped the television broadcast of the next week’s opponent, and that was one of the first things I watched before I even watched the game film.

“On TV, you get the play-by-play guy and the color analyst who have personally interviewed the coordinators, the quarterbacks, the star players, the head coach. Inevitably, they will use some of that material on the air. ‘Coach Jones said this about our running back, that he’s much better going to his left than he is to his right.’ Well, appreciate that.

“If it doesn’t help you directly, it helps subliminally. You’ll hear the coach say that their right cornerback, they worked hard on him not jumping the out cut, for example. He got beat a couple times on an out-and-up. Well, if they worked on him not jumping the out cut, maybe you want to throw a few out cuts in front of him early in the game and get him back into his old habits before you run the out-and-up.

“The other thing that happens when you listen to broadcasts is they’ve got those boom mikes on the sideline that pick up the cadence, which is always handy for your defense during the week. Also, occasionally they’ll pick up an audible. Usually the commentator will highlight that by making a comment about it as well. But if I know that ‘Geronimo’ means everybody run a go pattern, that really helps.”

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Considering all of the advances in technology since the game started, why do they still measure 10 yards with a chain? Wouldn’t it be faster and easier to do with a laser?

Matt Shupper, La Cañada Flintridge

Farmer: The NFL has had those discussions and has looked into various technologies that promise quicker and more accurate measurements for first downs. The league is in no rush to make a change. One reason is there are issues about finding the ideal system that works best in the 31 stadiums with various logistical challenges.